Etihad Airways charity marathon raises nearly half a million dirhams

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, raised almost half a million dirhams in support of the Children’s Cancer Hospital Foundation 57357 in Egypt through the charity marathon held last week as part of its “Colour Their Lives” campaign.

The 57357
Hospital, located in Cairo, is one of the biggest hospitals specialising in
children’s cancer in the world and was solely built on donations. Funds raised
will help the hospital build a new ward housing 300 beds and a new playground
for the children.

Donations
where collected through the sale of “Colour Their Lives” t-shirts at the
marathon which was held at the Abu Dhabi Corniche and saw participation in four
categories: adults, children, mother and child and children with special needs.

The
winners were: Tawfik Alem and Latifa Sarook in the male and female adults
categories; Abdallah Harazi and Mai Hisham
in the children’s catgory; Yasmin Al Hamooli in the mother and child
category; and Hassan Tarek in the children with special needs race.

Winners
of the adult category won two airline tickets to any destination in the Etihad
Airways network. All other winners received exciting prizes including tickets
to Yas Water World and Ferrari World, free access to Abu Dhabi public beach, as
well as Ipads and other electronic devices.

His
Excellency Sheikh Ahmed Bin Hamdan Bin Mohamed Al Nahyan attended the race and
distributed the prizes to the winners along with His Excellency Abdulla Rashed
Khalaf Al Otaiba, Chairman of the
Department of Transport, and His Excellency Major General Obaid Al Hairi Salem
Ketbi, Deputy General Commander of Abu Dhabi Police.

Also
attending the marathon were Her Excellency Mariam Saif Al Qubaisi, Head of
Special Needs Sector at Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and
Special Needs (ZHO), Talal Khouri, Head of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, His Excellency
Ihab Hamouda, Egyptian Ambassador to the UAE, and Ehab Tawfeeq, the famous Egyptian
singer.

Khaled
Al Mehairbi, Etihad Airways’ Chairman of the Sports and Social Committee and
Senior Vice President of Government and AeroPolitical Affairs, said: “As the
UAE flag carrier, we are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to society and give
back to those in need.

“We
hope we managed to make a difference in the lives of these young children by
helping them on their journey to recovery, while at the same time raising
awareness of treatment and prevention of this deadly disease.”

Along
with the marathon many other activities were organised including free health
screenings and medical advice, live entertainment, face painting activities for
children, a lucky draw with various exciting prizes, and an auction for the
trip of a lifetime to five exciting Etihad Airways’ destinations including : Disneyland
Paris, Maldives, Thailand and the Philippines.

A
giant wall dedicated to the UAE’s President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, was one of the main attractions at the event, and saw visitors
of all ages and nationalities join in wishing His Highness a speedy recovery
and the best of health.

“We
are pleased to have been able to provide the citizens, residents and visitors
of the UAE with the opportunity to show their love and respect for the leader
of the nation and wish the President the best of health,” Mr. Al Mehairbi said.

The
marathon was held in collaboration with the Abu
Dhabi Sports Council, Abu Dhabi City Municipality, Abu Dhabi Airports, Ministry
of Interior, Emirates Red Crescent, SEHA Emirates Hospital, Yas Water World and
Canon.